Television (TV) advertising is a major component in assisting manufacturers, distributors, vendors, and other organizations interested in publicizing their product, brand, service, or viewpoint, in reaching segments of the public. Moreover, TV advertising subsidizes the cost of a large part of TV programming delivered to consumers. Advertisers commonly wish to deliver (target) certain ads to one or more groups of subscribers, such groups having particular demographic characteristics, such as income, age, gender, etc. These advertisers typically have access to market and demographic studies that allow them limited control over delivering their ads to specific groups of subscribers. One such method is “linked sponsorship”, well known and used in the advertising industry. Linked sponsorship involves determining what demographic group or groups watch particular programming (e.g., from Nielsen data), and then buying (or contracting for) commercial spots during those programs for which the demographic viewership matches the desires of the advertiSerial Improvements over the linked sponsorship model have been developed which allow advertisers to target their ads to the appropriate viewers or groups of viewers more efficiently. Such systems are disclosed in applicants U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/591,577 filed on Jun. 9, 2000, entitled “Privacy-Protected Advertising System”; Ser. No. 09/268,519 filed on Mar. 12, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,348, entitled “Consumer Profiling System”; Ser. No. 09/268,526 filed on Mar. 12, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,129, entitled “Advertising Selection System Supporting Discretionary Target Market Characteristics”; and Ser. No. 09/553,637 filed on Apr. 20, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,277, entitled “Advertising Management System for Digital Video Streams”. All of these applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference. These systems provide, inter alia, for the collection and processing of consumer and subscriber data in order to develop a profile for a subscriber or group of subscribers. These profiles, along with ad characterizations and other advertiser requirements, are used to match and deliver “targeted” ads to subscribers such that subscribers receive ads more appropriate for them (i.e., of more interest and hence more effective). An additional important feature of these systems is that they provide for delivery and storage of ads at the set-top box (STB), and program independent insertion and presentation of these ads to the subscriber. These targeted advertising systems provide advertisers with the means to target and reach subscribers of interest to them more effectively.
Recording TV programming is quite common among TV viewers (subscribers). The recording of programming allows the subscriber more flexibility in what and when the subscriber watches programs of interest to that subscriber. This is particularly true in the cable TV arena where dozens to hundreds of programming choices are simultaneously available to the subscriber. Programming a Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) or other recording device can be a tedious process, for example, it may require navigating a complex programming menu, and the exact date and time of the desired programming must be obtained by the subscriber before any programming of the VCR can begin. Systems have been developed to simplify the recording process by reducing the number of keystrokes and providing a way for a subscriber to automatically program their VCR using program schedule information. Young et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,121) discloses a system for controlling VCR operation via broadcast scheduling information. Yuen et al. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,974,222, and 6,049,652) disclose a system allowing the subscriber to program their VCR to record a program that is selected from the EPG. Jackson (U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,264) also discloses a method for automatically programming a recording device via an EPG. All of the aforementioned patents are hereby incorporated by reference. These and other systems provide for “one-touch record”, wherein the subscriber identifies a program (i.e., via the EPG) that the subscriber wishes to record. The subscriber, while highlighting the desired program, presses a special record button on the remote control, which then programs a pre-configured recording device to record that program (i.e., that channel and that time according to the EPG). Another feature of the interactive EPG, disclosed in those patents is that of a subscriber being able to select or “flag” a future program for watching. When the program selected begins, the EPG notifies the subscriber, or alternatively tunes directly to the selected program.
In the advertising systems mentioned above, delivery to the subscriber of targeted or program independent advertising is accomplished while the subscriber is viewing a particular program. Targeted ads can be delivered with particular programming or they can be inserted at the STB and presented to the subscriber independent of the programming being viewed. However, many times a subscriber wants to record a program, for example, when the subscriber wishes to ‘watch’ two shows that are broadcast concurrently. Systems that allow for recording a program while concurrently watching a different program are well known in the art. In another example, the subscriber merely wishes to watch a particular program at a different time than when that program is actually broadcast. The subscriber may program their preferred recording device (i.e., via the EPG) to record such programming. In some systems, targeted ad delivery is dependent on detecting viewership (i.e. detecting whether or not the TV is on, or whether or not there are regular commands from the remote control). However, when a program is recorded, the TV is not typically on, and the subscriber is not present. Thus, targeted ad delivery is not performed. The ability to deliver targeted advertising to subscribers, independent of when they watch a program is desirable, and thus delivering ads during recorded programming is desirable.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a method and system by which targeted and/or program independent advertisements can be scheduled, delivered and presented to the subscriber while the subscriber is watching recorded programming. There is also a need to be able to deliver targeted advertising to subscribers during programming that they have selected or “flagged” for future watching. There is a further need for identifying the increased number of targeted advertising opportunities (avails) available in recorded or flagged programming, and delivering targeted ads to the subscriber in these avails so that the subscriber will receive addressable advertising when viewing the recorded or flagged program. There is a further need for inserting targeted advertising into programming scheduled to be recorded through the EPG, and for being able to utilize the EPG data to characterize programming and viewership such that optimum ad-viewer (subscriber) matching can be achieved.